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The Conservatives have obtained figures revealing that 77,302 NHS operations were cancelled in the last year for non-clinical reasons.
The statistics showed that more than 7,000 patients had their operations cancelled more than once, with one patient having theirs cancelled 21 times.
Some 34 per cent of trusts cancelled an operation for the same patient at least three times.
According to the data, obtained from 124 trusts under freedom of information laws, 16,614 operations were cancelled due to issues relating to the operating theatre.
Some 11,585 cancellations related to the patient, 11,370 to staffing, 10,714 due to a shortage of beds and another patient took precedence in 5,968 cases.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Having an operation cancelled can cause huge distress for patients and their families.
"It's simply unacceptable that these figures are so high - and that the government is spinning the official statistics to try to hide them.
"The government is directly to blame for these problems.
"NHS staff are doing the best they can but how can they plan patients' care properly when they are continually hampered by Labour's top-down targets?
"Labour's boom-and-bust approach to the NHS finances has made things even worse, with bed shortages and staffing shortages in far too many trusts."
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